Essential gear for a woman in the vertical world
1. Jeremy Collins Artwork from The Jonny Copp Foundation
This brilliant piece, printed on 11×14 watercolor paper, was inspired by the late and great Jonny Copp, a world-class alpinist, founder of the Adventure Film Festival, and a luminary in the climbing world. (Copp, along with top alpinist Micah Dash and the talented filmmaker Wade Johnson, perished in 2009 in an avalanche on Mount Edgar, China.) Proceeds go to The Jonny Copp Foundation (creed: “Make Your Own Legends”), a nonprofit that supports art, adventure and respect for people and the environment through grants, outreach programs, and exhibits. You can also buy Jonny Copp photography ($60-$500), T-shirts ($20), handmade Tibetan flag letter press cards ($8), recycled “What would Jonny do?” rubber wristbands ($3), and PMI climbing ropes (available at Neptune Mountaineering, in Boulder), as well as the song “Border Country,” by Tres Altman, set to the poem penned by Copp.
$150 (artwork); jonnycoppfoundation.org; go to jonny.zenfolio.com to purchase.
2. Verve’s Sapho Rayon Capri
It’s an established fact that shopping for pants is a soul-draining process second only to leading a flaring, kitty-litter crack inhabited by hornets. Choosing climbing pants is harder yet, since they have to be flattering and functional. The Sapho achieves both. The cut is slimming for all body shapes, while the durable, breathable fabric moves with your body, allowing Gumby-like contortions.
$48; verveclimbing.com; order by calling 303-443-7010
3. Evolv Custom Elektra Shoes
Evolv has always made topnotch rock shoes, but the new XY (“eXpress Yourself”) custom-shoe program brings things to a new level of coolness. At their website, you can pick from one of three shoes, including the popular, women’s-specific Elektra. The user-friendly program then let’s you personalize the design: You can add rubber to the heel or toe for better hooking or crack climbing, increase midsole stiffness for precise edging, and choose different colors for the tongue, upper, straps, logo, and embroidery (orange with black tiger stripes, anyone?). Caveat: The shoes take up to four weeks to ship, and you’ll want to figure out your Evolv shoe size before ordering.
Starts at $115; evolvsports.com
4. BlueWater HERA Eliminator Rope
All women—climbers or not—should know about the HERA Foundation, a nonprofit that educates women about ovarian cancer and funds research. In an effort to benefit HERA, BlueWater has created the Eliminator, a 10.2mm super-strong, lightweight dynamic rope patterned with HERA’s signature colors. Best yet, $15 from each sale is donated to HERA. This rope will save your life, and it just might save others’ too.
$202 (60m), $236 (70m); bluewaterropes.com
5. Krieg Chalkbag
A chalkbag is to climbers what a feather was to Dumbo: a seemingly simple object that lets you magically fly up routes, by keeping your hands dry with its precious magnesium carbonate. Such a key tool should have some personality. Enter Krieg. This grassroots, Pocatello, Idaho-based company offers dozens of unique, funky designs—everything from sock monkeys, to dog paws, to pink fuzzy shag—and even lets you custom-design your own; plus, each bag has a zip pocket for storing keys, an iPod, or energy bars. Bonus: Never again will someone accidentally snag your chalkbag at the gym because it looks exactly like 20 other ones.
$21; kriegclimbing.com
6. Metolius Master Cams
Women are addicted to thin cracks. Maybe it’s because our smaller digits fit like a key in finger locks that guys hate, or because they take both brawn and finesse to climb. Whatever the case, you’ll want Metolius Master Cams to protect them. Hand-built and rigorously tested in Bend, Oregon, these bomber single-stem, four-lobed cams have an ultra-narrow head to fit the tightest of placements; they also feature an easy-to-pull trigger and a reassuring Range Finder on the lobes, which helps refine your placements. Splitter!
$60; metoliusclimbing.com
Kristin Bjornsen is associate editor at Backpacker magazine and a freelance writer. She’s still waiting for someone to invent a climbing backpack that her wayward hound dog can’t open to steal salmon jerky.
